Titans lost
by Tatterdelimon
Summary: My interpretaion of the Titans in the justice lords universe
1. Chapter 1

Getting in had been easy, too easy… the Lords had never expected anyone to actually break into Arkham asylum, after all the attempt was tantamount to suicide, especially given the new regime. Which was precisely the reason that they were doing it.

The plan had been simple, too simple: Raven would teleport them in, Bumble-Bee and the rest of Titans east would head west and cause a distraction whilst Robin would lead the main force to rescue Terra.

The Geomancer had been revived a few months ago, shortly after the Lords had finally decided to take a hand in the Titans affairs (and those of the world in general),their advanced watchtower and J'onn's knowledge of shape shifting quickly solving a problem that had been viewed as insurmountable, freeing Terra from her rocky prison. The troubled girl had been reunited with her former friends and all had been happy for a time, but like all that girls happiness it was short lived.

The Lords were…changing, it had been most obvious after Luthor's…impeachment, but Robin knew that it had started long before that. The constant fighting and the endless villains had taken their toll… it had started out small; the occasional 'suggestion' to the government, the odd overzealous beating, quickly escalating to become a bid to seize control over every rule and regulation. Whatever the reason though the lords now controlled the earth in the name of 'justice' with an iron fist. All the governments (willingly or otherwise) now answered directly to the watchtower.

Terra had been taken a month ago, for 'routine testing' apparently, but Robin hadn't been so sure, both Terra and Robin had always been against the Lords new 'system' but Terra, always the free spirit, was especially outspoken. Always criticising their way of running things, their 'draconian law system' things like that. Even going so far as to allow some of the lesser offenders to escape, an action that Robin frowned upon, but even he could see what she had meant; convicting people of 'causing a breach of the peace' for complaining about a restaurant's service was just daft.  
And so when Terra had been taken Robin had slipped her a transmitter to ensure that the titans could find her if anything 'unsavoury' was to happen, and from the looks of things his paranoia had paid off, as usual.  
It had taken a while but with Raven's help Robin had been able to track Terra down; She as being held in Arkham asylum, as an enemy of the state no less!

And so here they were; the Teen Titans, famed adolescent superhero's committing a jailbreak from one of the worlds most secure parahuman prisons; Arkam Asylum.

Arkham, somehow it always came back to Arkam, the monstrous asylum that presided over the decaying city of Gotham. It has been said that Arkam is a soulless place in the worst way, nothing but a crypt for the mad souls left to rot in its confines, but Robin knew better, Arkam had a soul, a soul born from the tortured minds of the twisted wretches that suffered in its stygian depths.  
He still remembered his first time, hauling Two-face up to the wrought iron gates, the gnarled blackened metal a chilling reflection of the malignant presence that lurked in the walls.  
It called to you, sang the siren song of madness till the very stones seemed to moan "you belong here, you know you do, come throw away your wretched sanity and join the dance"  
He had fought that compulsion many times during his tenure under the dark knight, being brought to the brink but always pulling away before the call became too strong. But even when you left Arkam it felt like you'd left a little bit of yourself behind. The asylums parting words always chilling "No matter, we will always be here, waiting…for you"  
It must have been horrible for Terra, to be locked in the bowels of this cursed place, listening to the sobbing of the stones and feeling the evil of the walls press down upon her like a smothering miasma.

Even now under Arkam's 'new system' malignancy still seemed to drip from the walls, the anima of the building greeting Robin like an old friend, washing over him with the warmth of a fetid breath.  
The others felt it too, he could see it in their faces; Beast boy looked sick, his eyes constantly darting around, always alert and tensed to run, it seemed that the old saying that animals could sense evil was true after all.  
Cyborg seemed preoccupied, the only red glow of his prosthetic eye given a hellish quality in the asylum's cloying gloom.  
Starfire was shaking; even her boundless enthusiasm was muted by the stink of the place, the bright emerald glow of her power dampened to a flickering green glow, bathing the walls in putrescent pus coloured light.  
It had hit Raven the worst, she hid it well but Robin could see the truth, she felt it keener then any of them, her empathic abilities magnifying the whispers into a cacophony of ethereal noise.  
True to Robin's guess, Raven felt Arkam's prescience clearly, but her reaction was not born entirely of revulsion… some part of her, a part that she had hidden beneath a thin veneer of discipline and will, sang along to the asylums song, revelling in its entropy and drinking deep of it's malice.  
It was getting harder to maintain control…  
Neither the prison guards or the layout posed a problem, under equipped to deal with Gotham's rogues gallery, the security stood no chance against the Titans and Robin was all too familiar with its twisting halls. At least the old ones…  
"It's gone."

"What do you mean 'it's gone'?" snapped Cyborg, harsher then he had intended.

"The door to the vault, its…gone."

"How can a door vanish?" moaned Beast boy in aggravation, slumping against the wall to his left.

"I am in agreement with friend Beast-boy, doors on this planet do not move, they are polite like that."

"Here."

As one, the huddled Titans turned to Raven.

"What?"

"I…said I…" Raven paused, apparently marshalling her strength. Robin quirked an eyebrow. For a moment, just a moment it had not sounded like Raven…

"The door is here."

"How do you-" began Beast boy suspiciously, but he was cut off when Raven lent against the wall, causing it to swing inwards with a groan of sliding stone.

Raven stepped back as the others cautiously filed through leaving only her and Robin in the dark hallway.

"How did you know about the secret wall Raven?"

"Lucky guess."

Robin could tell that she was lying, but now was neither the time nor the place to confront her about it so he shrugged and stepped through.

Raven had indeed been lying, she knew exactly how the knowledge of the door had come to her; Arkam had told her…

And so they arrived at the vault.

The vault, a relatively new addition to Arkams containment facility, was a huge steel/titanium box, evidently designed to hold the strongest of criminals 'and keep Terra from reaching the earth' thought Robin darkly. The lock was ridiculously complex; each bolt had 3 separate codes and each code changed bolt in sequence. it had taken him this long just to breech the first 3 codes.

"C'mon man… we ain't got much time." Cyborg's voice in his ear was an urgent reminder for the need for haste

The vault signalled its release with a sullen Clunk the huge locking pins retracting as the door slid open slowly to reveal the dark space beyond.

Beast boy leaped forward, eager to retrieve his love and escape the wretched place. "Terra!" his face froze, mouth-hanging open at the sight before him.

"Not quite."

"No…"

It was Superman, the former icon of justice, flanked by the rest of the Lords, the limp bodies of Titans east lying at their feet.  
Superman smirked slightly at the Titans shocked expressions, evidently enjoying their surprise.

"They tried to free the prisoners… we had no choice" he offered as an explanation.

BB broke the shocked silence first.

"W-what about Terra? Where is she?"

The smirk that had crossed Superman's face vanished to be replaced by an ugly sneer at the mention of Terra's name.

"Oh yes the agitator…she was executed as an enemy of the state yesterday, she called out for you you know, all of you, she wanted to know why her friends didn't save her."

"Wha- what?"

"I said she was executed, she was an enemy of justice and so got exactly what she deserved."

"GAR! NO"  
But Cyborg's warning went unheeded "Raaagh!" BB charged, all thought lost in the animal rage that had overtaken him, his form shifting to that of the man-beast in mid-leap.

Superman looked on disinterestedly as the hulking behemoth pelted towards him, barely even blinking before casually swatting him aside, sending BB flying to impact the wall with bone crushing force.

"I am willing to believe that he wasn't thinking clearly when he did that, it was his 'love' after all, and as no harm has been done, if you leave now we can forget about all of this 'unfortunate' business and get on with our lives."

Robin looked at Beast boy's prone body, curled in a mangled heap by the vault wall and then back at Superman's eyes, eyes that did not hold a trace of remorse or the man Robin once admired.  
That was it, the final test, the totally cavalier way that Superman treated Terra's execution with proved it beyond all doubt; Superman had gone mad.

"You…you've gone too far."

"What was that?"

"I said you've gone to far you bastard."

Superman actually seemed shocked; the bastard actually seemed shocked at Robin's words!

"I'm warning you, this is your last chance, leave now or become enemies of Justice and be treated accordingly. I will not stan-"

Whatever he was going to say was lost then, lost in the combined roar of an explosive disk, a flurry of star-bolts and the raucous bark of a sonic cannon.  
The combined assault was enough to send Superman hurtling backwards to slam into the wall of the vault; Treble strength neo-titanium tungsten alloy bending like toffee under the impact.

"Star you keep on him! Raven handle the lantern, Cyborg with me! Titans go! "

Starfire nodded and darted after Superman, pelting the area with Starbolts as she zipped past.  
Wonderwoman flew to intercept but was deflected by a flurry of explosive discs before Cyborg smashed her to the ground.

Robin leapt to help Cyborg but his flight was arrested by Hawkgirl, the Thanagarian slamming into him with all the force that only a 110 pound woman flying at 45 miles per hour could muster, Robin didn't even have time to think before her mace came scything down, hungry for his blood.

Later he would have loved to say that it was Batman's training that had saved him in that critical moment, but as much as it sickened him he knew that it wasn't true. Slade was the only one who had come at him ready to kill, and Slade was the only reason he could move fast enough now; jack-knifing his legs up and into her face and using his momentum to slip through the gap between her arms, flicking out his staff as he tumbled.

Cyborg was struggling, he'd got the drop on Wonderwoman and delivered some punishing blows, but now that the Amazon had gotten her feet under her…  
He swung wildly, trying to buy himself time to recover the offensive but Wonderwoman easily caught his fist and tugged him forward, smashing her elbow into his face with a crackle of crushed cartilage. He reeled back clutching his face and swung blindly, a clumsy attack that she easily avoided, swerving round his fist to land a punishing series of blows across his face and chest that left the mechanical teen lying broken on the floor.

Raven too was having problems, whilst she could probably overcome the Lantern in terms of pure power. Especially with the evil of Arkham fuelling her strength, but the Lantern had a level of control with his ring that she could only dream of, attacking from so many different angles and with such force that all she could do was dodge around, occasionally throwing a lump of rubble or a force bolt his way.

And that was the problem, they just couldn't beat the Lords, not in a straight up fight, hell Superman could probably take them all on himself. So their only chance was to keep the Lords of balance. once they had their bearings the fight was over.

Robin swore loudly as he saw Cyborg fall and parried another jarring blow from Hawkgirl's mace, leaping back, dodging the follow-up kick and using his staff to change direction in mid-air to avoid a blast from the green lantern duelling with Raven above.  
A satisfied smirk briefly flickered across his face as he saw Raven punish the lantern for his inattention; slamming him to the ground with an obsidian fist.  
Hawk girl swung again, a scything blow that would have taken his head from his shoulders, whether he blocked it with his staff or not, or it would have had he not leapt over her swing, twisting in mid-air to plant a shock disk in the small of her back. She screamed for a moment before collapsing, battered and smoking but alive, to the floor.

Robin had barely a second to catch his breath before Wonderwoman charged him, launching an attack that snapped his hastily raised Bo like a twig. he threw the sundered halves at her and leaped back, the tonfa concealed in his gloves extending just in time to deflect a kick aimed for his head, even with him redirecting most of the force instead of simply blocking it her blow still numbed his arm. His counter attack; a thrust with his free tonfa caught her squarely in the chin and sent her reeling back, but it was a futile gesture; he was might be the better fighter but the gap between their speed and strengths was too great. it was only a matter of time before his broken body joined those of Bumble-Bee and the others.

Raven swerved left, narrowly avoiding the emerald beam that sought her heart "AZERATH METRION ZINTHOS"  
Her incantation, coupled with the boost Arkham provided her forged her power into a claw of pure night, a claw that smashed through the Lantern's hastily erected shield and threw him into the far wall. Raven paused, breathing heavily; it was getting harder to maintain control… the voices…  
WHAM!  
The lanterns beam caught her head on, blasting her from the sky to fall in a heap on the ground below, the lantern erected a cage around her before she recovered, too busy battling for control of her own mind to even pay attention.  
On the other side of the battlefield Starfire slowed her assault, breathing heavily, the walls surrounding her target were molten, liquid metal flowing into liquid rock where she had forced Superman through the vault into the bedrock below, dripping down into a smoky crater at least 6 foot deep. surely nothing could have survived that?  
A hand burst from the smoke and caught her by the throat; she had time to scream before-  
Crack!  
The battle halted at the sound. all eyes turned to the figure striding from the smoky wreck of the halls southern end; Superman stood silhouetted in the hole he had made on his backwards journey through it , Starfire's limp body hanging from his outstretched arm.

"No…" Raven looked up, even the perpetually screaming voices of Arkam had fallen silent.

Nobody, not even the Lords could quite believe what had happened, it couldn't have happened could it?

"Starfire!"

Robin leapt forward with an inarticulate yell, disc already leaving his hand when Superman's heat beam hit it dead centre, causing it to explode in a burst of shrapnel and gore, sending Robin flying backwards clutching the bloody stump of his arm.

To the Lantern it looked like Raven had exploded, the emerald cage containing her shattering in a blaze of power, her form completely hidden in a corona of swirling black and red.  
The scream started small but built and built as other voices joined Raven's, reaching the point of agony and transcending it easily. It was a scream of total pain and hopelessness and the Lords found their own hidden fears and pains coming to the fore, all protection stripped away by the primal sound, and as the scream grew so did Raven's aura, swallowing everything in total darkness before vanishing completely.

When they awoke the bodies of the Titans, living and dead were gone. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Robin awoke with a moan feeling as though he'd just gone 12 rounds with Cinderblock, everything ached. He sat up groggily and opened his eyes, wincing at the stabbing pain in his right arm as he did so; the sight that awaited him was not a welcome one.  
The sky was an angry red, interspersed with flashes of yellow and livid orange. a huge column of swirling black rent the kaleidoscopic sky asunder, the 'ground' was nothing but a series of crumbling platforms and walkways hanging unsupported in the abyss.  
Hanging none too firmly if the tremor that passed through his perch as he stared was any indication.

A single path lead of into the distance, passing through a number of cracked and shattered arches before halting at the base of the swirling black pillar some 10 miles distant.  
Groggily Robin shock his head, trying to clear his thoughts, the last thing he remembered was fighting the Lords at the jail, then nothing but pain and darkness, but this place…this didn't look like anywhere on earth.  
Fumbling around in his belt he yanked out his communicator and flipped it open "Robin to Cyborg, come in Cyborg." His only reply was static, yet the communicator's tracker told him that he was in Titans tower, a swift whack failed to correct it so Robin could only assume that it had to have been damaged in the fight, but that still didn't explain what he was doing here…  
A quick glance around told him that his only option was to follow the winding path and see where it took him.  
"Well I guess that I'd better get going"  
And so he set off, absently scratching at his oddly itching arm.

Back at the tower, things were not going well. Cyborg had awoken to find things… totally fucked up. Starfire was dead; Robin was unconscious, suffering from massive blood loss and would die if they didn't stem the bleeding; BB was unconscious, the extent of his injuries unknown and Raven… Since her arrival Raven had been locked in a sphere of… well whatever the stuff was it was black and angry, gathering a swirling cloud of whatever wasn't nailed down and disintegrating whatever touched it. all attempts at communication had failed. Not that Cyborg had tried hard, the first priority had been to staunch Robins bleeding, they only had hours, maybe even minutes before the Lords worked out what had happened and came for them here.

BzzAK

WARNING: SYSTEM FAILURE: INITIATE REPAIR SEQUENCE IMMEDIATELY

Cyborg grunted in pain as another circuit gave out and cooling fluid began to trickle down his already blood-soaked arms, mingling with Robin's pooling blood to create a ghastly red/blue pattern of spilt life.  
Wonder Woman had certainly done a number on him; his armour was cracked and shattered, joints sparking periodically as more systems succumbed to the strain of working after sustaining such damage. Even his vision flickered; colour bleeding in and out of the world as his prosthetic eye blinked and buzzed.

But he wasn't going to stop, not now. He'd made a promise a long time ago, a promise to Raven during one of their quiet times and he was damned if he was going to break it now.

Robin wandered through the burning fields wondering where the hell he'd ended up at.  
'Hell, hell describes this place pretty well.' He grumbled to himself sourly.  
One moment he'd been trudging down the floating path when reality suddenly decided to do a backflip, dumping him into a plain of burning flowers and bare trees.  
The sky here was the same livid shades as that in the…wherever that was, and the single landmark; the twisting column of black remained unchanged, leading him to believe that he was in the same plane, just a different part of it.

After wandering the shattered landscape for a short time Robin froze ears straining; somewhere in the distance, he had heard the sound of a girl crying and, lacking any other real direction set off to find its source. Another tremor almost threw him from his feet; they were getting steadily worse the further he travelled.  
The crying sounded again, much closer this time. Driving Robin to his feet in an attempt to find its source.  
"Stay still! I'm coming"  
Rounding a corner the source of the crying was revealed; it was Raven… in pink! She lay, curled up in the middle of the path shaking and sobbing piteously to herself.

"Raven?" He crouched down next to her in concern, noticing for the first time what a terrible state she was in; her leotard was in tatters, tears and shredded sections revealing that the skin beneath it was not much better, indeed it was a miracle she hadn't bled to death.

She shrank back from his touch at first, her terror evident in every halting movement, and then almost as if she recognised him for the first time she leapt into his arms like a frightened child. The moment that Raven made contact Robin's world dissolved into a fractured chaos of images and sensation.

A young girl running to meet her mother

A man with white hair and vivid blue eyes

A hug with Starfire

The sound of laughter

A kiss

The sound of a neck snapping

A crimson giant rampaging through a field of burning flowers

A tower of raging obsidian

When the images finally abated Robin simply sat stunned unable to make sense of the chaotic swirl, he had never seen those things, never felt them and yet… and Starfire and Raven kissing?  
It was only then that he noticed the sound, or rather the lack of it. Robin opened his eyes to find that Raven had vanished without a sound, not leaving a trace of ever having been there, not even the bloody puddle that had collected where she had lain. Even as he stared at the place she had occupied the flaming fields faded from view, revealing the floating paths once more. He was back where he had started; only now he had some idea of what was going on in this twisted place.

The arm couldn't be saved, the blast and taken more than half of it off, and had reduced the rest to so much charred meat.  
Damn Robin and his penchant for high explosives, this hadn't been the first time that the boy wonders insane gadgets had come back to bite him in the butt, but it was certainly the worst.

Without warning the lights gave out, shrouding the room in deep darkness for a moment before flickering back on, the low hum of the Towers emergency generators filling the room.  
Cyborg swore angrily as the shock caused him to loose his grip on one of Robin's arteries, the mangled tube leaking far too much of Robin's already heavily depleted supply before Cyborg could get it back under control.

The lords must have cut the power, It was how they worked now; prevent all communication, cut of all avenues of retreat before striking with all the grace and power of a meteorite.

"Help me!" a grey robed Raven was flying towards him, stark terror distorting her face.  
"Raven!" She looked up at Robin's voice and increased her speed, darting behind him in a welter of noise "they'recomingthey'recomingthey'recomingHELP"  
Robin had never seen her like this before, the dark psion was usually loath to show any emotion beyond a certain sadistic pleasure in torturing Beast boy, fear was something she professed not to have, yet here she was crouched before him shaking like a leaf.  
"Who's coming Raven, what's going on"  
She raised a trembling hand and pointed back down the path to a shimmering haze a few feet away.  
The air of the place seemed to warp and twist as a tear in the very fabric of reality, or whatever past for reality round here, was forced open, disgorging a gibbering mass.

It was hideous; a terrible mix of what might have been a squid, a lion and a flea. but to describe it such would be to give it some substance other then what it really was; a nightmare made flesh, an amalgamation of primal fear and terror. Gaping maws and glassy eyes opened and closed over its form seemingly at random. It moved by what seemed to be a combination of purposeful flight and protean thrashing.  
Raven gave a shriek of fear and leapt into Robin, knocking him to the floor in a tangle of limbs and cloaks. As soon as they touched Robin got the same queasy feeling he had when he had met the pink Raven and his world dissolved into another confusing mass of images and noise.

Four eyes rising from the gloom

Slade

A writhing mass of tentacles and teeth

Robin and the Titans lying dead with her/him staring at her/his bloody hands

A world on fire

By the time Robin recovered his vision the nightmare creature was right on top of him, reaching out with a tooth incrusted pseudo-pod

"Get back!" A blast of obsidian power smashed the creature from the path and it fell, howling madly into the abyss. However, more were arriving, slithering out from the same rent that had vomited forth the first one. Robin turned to see another Raven, this one clad in a vibrant green, like the pink robed version he had seen earlier this Raven was in bad shape; her robes were torn and she was bleeding heavily from numerous cuts and a torn lip.

"Get out of here! I won't be able to hold them here for long."

"What's going-"

"Keep going, help will arrive soon now GO!" She flung him down the path with a swift hand movement and turned back to the creatures.

As Robin ran he heard the echoes of the conflict echo throughout the air

"AZERATH METRION ZINTHOS!" Raven's mantra was followed by a colossal explosion.  
Robin chanced a look back down the path, but whatever was going on was completely obscured by the lingering dust and debris of Raven's incantation. Whatever those creatures had been Robin was betting that they wasn't supposed to be there, the green Raven had told him that help was coming, but he had to keep going, that staying still meant that it was easier for- whatever was causing this to find him.

A few yards on he felt the now familiar feeling of displacement and knew instantly that he had stumbled on another one of those…portals? This one taking him to what looked like… a library? Only this place was different in another way; every other place Robin and been to since his arrival had been in ruins, but this place was fine.

"Ah so you've arrived, good." as she spoke the yellow robed Raven hovered into view, a pair of modest reading glasses perched on the end of her nose creating a slightly ludicrous if cute affect.

"Raven?"

The yellow robed girl nodded then paused thoughtfully "Yes…and then again no, I am a manifestation of a portion of Ravens psyche created by her powers."

"So none of the Ravens I've seen here are real? This is all in Ravens head"  
Raven tilted her head thoughtfully again before replying "…no. we are real, but merely facets of the being that you call Raven, and yes, this is Nevermore, or at least what's left of it."

"Never-"

"Nevermore is the name Raven gave to her mindscape, a rather poor pun. No doubt you wish to know why and how you ended up here"  
It wasn't a question

"Uh-huh."

"Do you recall the Slade apparition?"

"Of course." Robin snorted

Robin was hardly likely to forget that. Slade, the madman that had come so close to killing them time and time again had laced his mask with a remote activated hallucinogenic compound, designed to make Robin believe that he was seeing, and fighting Slade whenever it was dark.  
In an attempt to discover the cause of Robin's injuries and strange behaviour Raven had entered his mind, overlaid her senses on his in an attempt to see what their medical equipment could not. The mental contact was brief, only lasting a few seconds before the Slade-thing had forcibly ejected her, but in that short time he had been totally open to her and her to him. The hallucinations were cured soon after but ever since then Robin had been…sensitive to Ravens moods and presence.

"As I'm sure you've guessed the mind link forged during that incident was never fully broken. You are here because of the recent…trauma to both your psyches, Raven's sanity is hanging by a thread and in desperation her mind called out to the one thing that she thought could help her; You."

"You said that this 'Nevermore was Ravens mind, what did you mean when you said 'what's left of it'?

"Starfire's death coupled with Arkham's influence unbalanced Raven's carefully constructed equilibrium, the rage and hate she's fought to keep under control has escaped, and is destroying the other facets of her mind. If this continues She will eventually become the pawn of Trigon again," She paused and conjured up an image of the red giant he had seen in the other Raven's memory before continuing "a being that lives only for the carnage that his rule brings. And you will become trapped in here forever, watching as she destroys your world."

Robin grimaced at the reminder of Star's death; the only thing that had kept him from collapsing into a puddle of grief was the same emotion that had sustained him through his training as Robin;

Revenge.

"Uhhh…"

It sounded like BB was waking up at last. Cyborg spared a second to glance over at the changeling as he staggered to his feet, eyes widening in shock as his bleary eyes made out the still bodies of Robin and Starfire

"Dude! What happened?"

"Do you want the long version or the short version, hint; take the short one."

"Short"

"Terra; Dead, Starfire: Dead, Titans east: Dead, Robin; Dieing and Raven?... see for yourself"  
Cyborg gestured absently to the swirling corona of black that hid Raven from sight, too busy with Robin's wounds to even care about how callous he had sounded, there would be time for being human later.

"That's her?"

"Yup, she's been like that since we got back, now make yourself useful, and lock the tower down."

"What?"

"You heard me! We haven't got much time before the Lords come and Nuke us, now do IT!"

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"Trigon has separated us from Raven, using our weakened state to hunt us down one by one. Once enough of us have fallen, he will control this mind. Raven on her own lacks the power necessary to halt his advance, so we need you to take us to her."

"How? Every time I've found one of you you've vanished!"

"The mental connection you and Raven share allows you to store us. That's what the memories which have no doubt been playing through your mind are; pieces of Raven's soul."

"Pieces of her soul?"

"Yes! You are acting like a vessel for Raven's soul. I told you that."

"So what you're saying is that I have to find Raven before this Trigon gains control?"

The Raven-shade regarded him piteously before replying in the scathing tones he knew so well "Yes, I thought that I'd already said that. Honestly I have no idea what it is she sees in you."

"What do you-?"

She cut him off with a smirk "Time to go"

Before Robin could reply reality back flipped again and he was back on the twisting path, no trace of the ancient library he had previously been traversing.

The voices of the Ravens echoed all around him

"We have brought you as far as we can… the rest is up to you…and her, good luck"  
"Ok…I won't let another friend down"  
So saying Robin turned and sprinted for the black column

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"The tower's locked down."

"Good"  
Cyborg stood up and activated a wall-console, the streams of data flickering over his glowing red eye confirming his suspicions.

"The watchtower"  
Beast boy wandered over aimlessly, still a bit too dazed from Superman's blow to really think clearly on his own initiative.

"What about it?"

"It's moving… there're moving it for an orbital strike…"

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"So you're her saviour…funny, I was expecting someone taller"

Robin froze. He'd made it to within 90 yards of the column without being attacked, savaged or otherwise impeded. Even the strange things he'd seen earlier had kept their distance.

"Who are you!"

The voice sounded again; mocking, almost amused in tone "I... I am the darkness in the corners of this mind; the rage that runs through her veins."

This whole 'voice in your head' thing was starting to wear thin for Robin, was everyone above normal talking these day's?

"Where are you?"

"WHERE am I? in this place mortal I am everywhere, but for one who has done so much for my daughter it is only fair that you see the face of your death."

As the voice boomed a shape began to form, rising and twisting as it gradually took on an all too familiar profile…

A giant, the same crimson giant he had seen in Raven's memories, its four flaming eyes narrowed threateningly.

"So you're the Trigon I've been hearing so much about

"That I am mortal! I assume that you mean to free my wayward daughter"  
He laughed gesturing to Ravens swirling cage with a wave of a vast black-clawed hand.  
"If you believe that you can defeat me mortal, you are sorely mistaken. Worlds tremble at the merest mention of my…wait"  
Trigon paused, sniffing the air for a moment before narrowing his four flaming eyes, although whether it was from anger or amusement Robin could only guess.  
"So…you carry the shards…no matter, you can no more stop me with them then you could without them, in fact I should thank you mortal, thanks to all your hard work. I need merely to slay you now to cement my hold on this mind forever. For your service I shall grant you a swift death"  
Trigon raised his huge fist to strike and Robin knew that in his weakened state he would be unable to dodge it before the giant smeared him across landscape.  
But before Trigon could strike he was knocked aside by a blast of black and red power.  
Recovering quickly Trigon turned his flaming gaze on the newcomers.

"Who dares?"

"We do ugly."

It was the green robed Raven in even worse shape then before, but this time she was not alone. A vanguard of other Ravens flanked her; Orange, Mauve, Aqua and Violet and behind them, looming over the rest stood a red robed Raven that towered over the others, four eyes glowing balefully beneath her hood.  
In his rage Trigon lashed out, shattering a pillar of rock like it was made of glass.  
"Am I supposed to be intimated by this pathetic defiance? All you have done is hasten your own end"  
Completely ignoring this (in Robin's humble opinion) impressive of demonic power the green Raven looked back over her shoulder at Robin and yelled

"Go! We can deal with him…just hurry."

Robin stared at the green Raven for a long moment before turning and running down the path wincing as the hair on his arms stood on end as the air buzzed with the power the Raven's were gathering.

Up close the seemingly calm column raged, tearing small rocks and debris from the ground and hurling it skyward. In between the pulses of power, Robin could just make out Raven's form, kneeling in the centre of the maelstrom. She was hunched over, although whether this was from fear or pain Robin couldn't tell.  
A cautious touch resulted in searing pain and a smoking glove, yet there seemed no other way to actually get in, a quick glance back down the path to the battle raging between Trigon and the small battalion of Ravens told him that time was a luxury he didn't have. That left only one option…  
Gritting his teeth Robin performed possibly the stupidest action he'd attempted all week; he leapt through the column.  
What greeted him was pain, lots and lots of pain. The sensation was not unlike being deep-fried in a freezer but it was soon over and Robin was left on the other side, remains of his uniform and parts of his skin smoking gently. Out of all his immense vocabulary, he could only think of one word that seemed appropriate at this time:

"Ouch."

Back down the path Trigon roared in anger as the insufferable embodiment of his daughters courage dodged yet another of his blows, stinging him with another blast as she twisted over his fist. These shades posed no danger to him, not even anger, who was undeniably the most powerful emotion his daughter possessed, but they did prevent him from reaching the boy, and if he succeeded in freeing Raven…  
He was roused from further contemplation by the aforementioned anger smashing a boulder over his head "That… that actually hurt!"

From Trigon's roaring Robin guessed that the battle was going well…for now, but he had to reach Raven quickly. Slowly, painfully Robin pulled himself to his feet, pieces of his charred and torn uniform disintegrating as he moved. Fortunately he had landed fairly close to Raven.  
"Raven"  
No response, kneeling down by her side Robin reached out a still smouldering hand and took her by the shoulder, speaking her name again as he did so.  
"Raven"  
When she turned to meet his gaze Robin fell back with an involuntary gasp. Ravens face was twisted in a rictus of incredible pain, black fire dripped from her mouth and eyes. Her costume was in shreds, revealing horrendous burns and cuts that covered most of her body. Glowing red lines intersected the cuts, creating a tattered patchwork of blood and fire that, coupled with the black fire pouring from her mouth made it look like she was being burned alive from within.  
"Raven…"

"…." Robin didn't have a clue what to do; the yellow Raven had told him to get to her but had said nothing as to what he was supposed to do when he reached her.

"Friend robin"  
"Wha"  
Robin spun around in shock, that voice… it couldn't be…  
"Hello Robin"  
"Star"  
Starfire stood before him, completely unharmed and wreathed in a sparkling white light. Her arms outstretched in welcome.  
"But how?"

"I was called, by you…and by her." She gestured to Raven's tormented form with one glowing ethereal hand and moved closer, brushing his face lightly with the other.

Her touch was light and airy, filling him with renewed strength, even as he felt his heart breaking.

"But…but you died"  
Starfire nodded solemnly "Yes, I did indeed die down in that vault. But your need has given me the strength to return…for a short time at least"  
"You mean…"

"Yes, my time here is short. But do not grieve; know that I am at peace and will never, NEVER truly leave you Robin." She was interrupted at this point by a roar that echoed from all around and shook Robin's bones "But now is not the time for farewells, for now we help Raven."

"How though?"

"Her mind is dieing, all happiness and hope being wrung from her. Currently all that can make her whole is contained within in you Robin." Said Star, taking Robin's face in her hands.

"Show her Robin; show Raven that you will not lose her."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

Starfire's ethereal lips brushed across Robin's like a sigh, and the knowledge of what he had to do drifted gently into his mind.

"A kiss is customary Robin, that's what you said to me all that time ago…"

Slowly, gently Robin gathered the writhing Raven up into his arms, wincing as her flesh burnt into his with a acrid hisss .

While Robin fought to contain the struggling girl without hurting her even further Starfire drifted over to them and rested a hand upon Raven's brow, a momentary look of concentration crossed her face but Raven's struggles eased, the flames dieing down. For the moment…  
With a last look at the battling Raven's and the grimly smiling Starfire Robin bent to Raven's face.  
As soon as their lips touched Robin and Raven were caught up in a swirl of memory and sensation, each reliving scenes from pasts both theirs and not.

Raven watched powerless as her parents fell to the unforgiving ground, forged an identity out of rage and hate and ran through the night with another soul, so like her own. Robin screamed as he watched his father tear his world apart, could only sob helplessly as Trigon slowly wrung his mother out like a cloth before dropping the shattered pile of gore to the floor and turning towards him…  
Robin felt the soul-shards leave him in a rush, and with each one Raven grew stronger, her grasp on his arm tightening until, in a final rush and an explosion of power contact was broken.

"Now DIE!" Trigon's hand came scything down to crush Courage's battered form, but with a final smirk, the blasted shade vanished! But that meant…

Robin looked up as the smoke cleared, Raven stood straight and tall, no trace of the cuts and bruises that had covered her body. The marks however, remained, yet as Robin watched their angry red glow slowly changed to a pure sky blue as her robes assumed a blinding white hue.

"Raven?"

"Yes Robin?" her voice had also changed, before it had been hoarse and pained, but now it was strong, humming with the voices of her other selves to create a powerfully choral effect.  
"It is good that you are well again Friend Raven"  
Raven span in shock at the girl's voice.  
"Starfire"  
Robin interrupted before they got too distracted.  
"Long story, don't ask"  
"Thank you"  
Trigon's roar of rage shattered their moment of quiet solitude "NO! I will not be thwarted again"  
Raven turned back to her father, looking on him with an almost bored expression as he thundered down the path towards them, his heavy footfalls shaking the very rock beneath Robin's feet.  
"You can and you will, I am strong again father, and you… you are gone! AZERATH METRION ZINTHOS"  
The power unleashed by Raven's incantation was staggering, even Robin who was standing outside its area of effect was thrown backwards, skidding painfully over the rocky ground and into unconsciousness so he missed whatever effect Ravens spell had on Trigon.

"uhhh"  
When Robin awoke this time, the air felt different, less oppressive, and cleaner somehow. Blearily raising his head Robin saw Starfire and Raven standing before him, entwined in a long slow kiss that ended even as he staggered upright, only to fall into their arms as his tired and aching legs gave way.

"Careful Robin."

"Are you hurt? Is anything broken?"

Dazedly Robin noted the differing textures of their touches; Raven's was solid and firm, yet soft at the same time, Starfire's was ethereal and warm, the memory of a caress rather then its real substance.  
"Ow"  
Both girls giggled at this, which momentarily annoyed him, he had spent the last few hours getting pummelled and blown up for these two, and here they were laughing at him, that's gratitude for you.  
Starfire leaned down to look into his eyes "Silly boy"  
She murmured as she lightly stroked his face again, as though she knew that this would be the last time she would get the chance.  
"Goodbye friends, and go with love…" moving in to kiss him as she spoke, and as their lips met, Robin's world went black. 


	3. Chapter 3

"The tower's locked down."

"Good"  
Cyborg stood up and activated a wall-console, the streams of data flickering over his glowing red eye confirming his suspicions..

"The watchtower"  
Beast boy wandered over aimlessly, still a bit to dazed fro Superman's blow to really think clearly on his own initiative.  
"What about it?"

"It's moving… there're moving it for an orbital strike…"

"So you're her saviour…funny, I was expecting someone taller"

"Who are you!"

The voice sounded again; mocking, almost amused in tone "I... I am the darkness in the corners of this mind; the rage that run's through her veins."

This whole 'voice in your head' thing was starting to wear thin for Robin, was everyone above normal talking these day's?

"Where are you?"

"WHERE am I? in this place mortal I am everywhere, but for one who has done so much for my daughter it is only fair that you see the face of your death."

It was the same crimson giant he had seen in Ravens memories, its four flaming eyes narrowed threateningly.  
"So you're the Trigon I've been hearing so much about "That I am mortal I assume that you mean to free my wayward daughter"  
He gestured to Ravens swirling cage with a vast black-clawed hand "If you believe that you can defeat me mortal, you are sorely mistaken. Worlds tremble at the merest mention of my…wait"  
Trigon paused, sniffing the air for a moment before narrowing his four flaming eyes, although whether it was form anger or amusement Robin could only guess "So…you carry the shards…no matter, you can no more stop me with them then you could without them, in fact I should thank you mortal, thanks to all your hard work I need merely to slay you now to cement my hold on this mind forever. For your service I shall grant you a swift death"  
Trigon raised his huge fist to strike and Robin knew that in his weakened state he would be unable to dodge it before the giant smeared him across landscape.  
But before Trigon could strike he was knocked aside by a blast of black and red power.  
Recovering quickly Trigon turned his flaming gaze on the newcomers.

"Who dares?"

"We do ugly."

it was the green robed Raven in even worse shape then before, but this time she was not alone. A vanguard of other Ravens flanked her; Orange, mauve, aqua and violet and behind them, looming over the rest stood a red robed Raven that towered over the others four eyes glowing balefully beneath her hood.  
In his rage Trigon lashed out, shattering a pillar of rock like it was made of glass.  
"Am I supposed to be intimated by this pathetic defiance? All you have done is hasten your own end"  
Completely ignoring this (in Robins humble opinion) impressive of demonic power the green Raven looked back over her shoulder at Robin and yelled "Go! We can deal with him…just hurry."

Robin stared at the green Raven for a long moment before turning and running down the path.

Up close the seemingly calm column raged, tearing small rocks and debris from the ground and hurling it skyward. In between the pulses of power, Robin could just make out Ravens form, kneeling in the centre of the maelstrom. She was hunched over, although whether this was from fear or pain Robin couldn't tell.  
A cautious touch resulted in searing pain and a smoking glove, yet there seemed no other way to actually get in, a quick glance back down the path to the battle raging between Trigon and the small battalion of Ravens told him that time was a luxury he didn't have. That left only one option…  
Gritting his teeth Robin performed possibly the stupidest action he'd attempted all week; he leapt through the column.  
What greeted him was pain, lots and lots of pain. the sensation was not unlike being deep-fried in a freezer but it was soon over and Robin was left on the other side, remains of his uniform and parts of his skin smoking gently. Out of all his immense vocabulary he could only think of one word that seemed appropriate at this time:

"Ouch."

Back down the path Trigon roared in anger as the insufferable green Raven dodged yet another of his blows, stinging him with another blast as she twisted over his fist. These shades posed no danger to him, not even anger, who was undeniably the most powerful emotion his daughter possessed, but they did prevent him from reaching the boy, and if he succeeded in freeing Raven…  
He was roused from further contemplation by the aforementioned anger smashing a boulder over his head "That… that actually hurt!"

From Trigon's roaring Robin guessed that the battle was going well…for now, but he had to reach Raven quickly. Slowly, painfully Robin pulled himself to his feet, pieces of his charred and torn uniform disintegrating as he moved. Fortunately he had landed fairly close to Raven.  
"Raven"  
No response, kneeling down by her side Robin reached out a still smouldering hand and took her by the shoulder, speaking her name again as he did so.  
"Raven"  
When she turned to meet his gaze Robin fell back with an involuntary gasp. Ravens face was twisted in a rictus of incredible pain, black fire dripped from her mouth and eyes. Her costume was in shreds, revealing horrendous burns and cuts that covered most of her body. Glowing red lines intersected the cuts creating a tattered patchwork of blood and fire that, coupled with the black fire pouring form her mouth made it look like she was being burned alive from within.  
"Raven…"

"…." Robin didn't have a clue what to do; the yellow Raven had told him to get to her but had said nothing as to what he was supposed to do when he reached her.

"Friend robin"  
"Wha"  
Robin spun around in shock, that voice… it couldn't be…  
"Hello Robin"  
"Star"  
Starfire stood before him, completely unharmed and wreathed in a sparkling white light. Her arms outstretched in welcome.  
"But how?"

" I was called, by you…and her." She gestured to Raven's tormented form with one glowing ethereal hand and moved closer, brushing his face lightly with the other.

Her touch was light and airy, filling him with renewed strength, even as he felt his heart breaking.

"But…but you died"  
Starfire nodded solemnly "Yes, I did indeed die down in that vault. But your need has given me the strength to return…for a short time at least"  
"You mean…"

"Yes, my time here is short. But do not grieve; know that I am at peace and will never, NEVER truly leave you Robin." She was interrupted at this point by a roar that echoed from all around and shock Robin's bones "But now is not the time for farewells, for now we help Raven."

"how though,

As soon as their lips touched Robin and Raven were caught up in a swirl of memory and sensation, each reliving scenes from pasts both there's and not.

Raven watched powerless as her parents fell to the unforgiving ground, forged an identity out of rage and hate and ran through the night with another soul, so like her own.  
Robin screamed as he watched his father tear his world apart, could only sob helplessly as Trigon slowly rung his mother out like a cloth before dropping the shattered pile of gore to the floor and turning towards him…  
Robin felt the soul-shards leave him in a rush, and with each one Raven grew stronger, her grasp on his arm tightening until, in a final rush and an explosion of power contact was broken.  
Robin looked up as the smoke cleared, Raven stood straight and tall, no trace of the cuts and bruises that had covered her body. The marks however, remained, yet as Robin watched their angry red glow slowly changed to a pure sky blue as her robes assumed a blinding white hue.

"Raven?"

"Yes Robin?" her voice had also changed, before it had been hoarse and pained, but now it was strong, humming with the voices of her other selves to create a powerfully choral effect.  
"It is good that you are well again Friend Raven"  
"Starfire"  
Robin interrupted before they got too distracted "Long story, don't ask"  
"Thank you"  
Trigon's roar of rage shattered their moment of quiet solitude "NO! I will not be thwarted again"  
Raven turned back to her father, looking on him with an almost bored expression as he thundered down the path towards them, his heavy footfalls shaking the very rock beneath Robin's feet.  
"You can and you will, I am strong again father, and you… you are gone! AZERTAH METRION ZINTHOS"  
The power unleashed by Ravens incantation was staggering, even Robin who was standing outside its area of effect was thrown backwards, skidding painfully over the rocky ground and into unconsciousness so he missed whatever effect Ravens spell had on Trigon.

"uhhh"  
The air felt different, less oppressive, cleaner somehow. Blearily raising his head Robin saw Starfire and Raven standing before him, entwined in a long slow kiss that ended even as he staggered upright, only to fall into their arms as his tired and aching legs gave way.

"Careful Robin."

"Are you hurt? Is anything broken"  
blearily Robin noted the differing textures of their touches; Raven's was solid and firm, yet soft at the same time, Starfire's was ethereal and warm, the memory of a caress rather then its real substance.  
"Ow"  
Both girls giggled at this, which momentarily annoyed him, he had spent the last few hours getting pummelled and blown up for these two, and here they were laughing at him, that's gratitude for you.  
Starfire leaned down to look into his eyes "Silly boy"  
She murmured as she lightly stroked his face again, as though she knew that this would be the last time she would get the chance.  
"Goodbye friends, and go with love…" moving in to kiss him as she spoke, and as their lips met, Robin's world went black.

End Chapter 3

Okay, first things first Opinions: was this chapter too long or too short?  
How out of character was Starfire?  
Any character you guy's want to see in later chapters?

And now, to address those people kind enough to review:

Chaos tears: Thanks or the reviews and glad you like it!  
Psychic werewolf assassin: sorry about the long period between updates.  
Ryan L. Spradling: A copy of the bunny dictionary is winging its way to you.

Thanks to all of you for reviewing at all.

Any chance of you reviewing my other fics?

And if anyone wants to see one of my older fics check out BAD BLOOD RISING on Kanseuke's profile, a mate of mine who hosted my fictions while my membership was being sorted out. 


	4. Chapter 4

Robin groaned and tried to clear his head, the hangover he had when he awoke in Nevermore nothing compared to the pain of his skull now.  
"Ah, you're awake"  
Robin was dimly aware of a hulking silhouette…Cyborg? Moving around before him. He tried to sit up and rub the drowsiness from his eyes, froze then attempted it again his blood ran cold when his right arm again failed to respond.

"Wha-"

Your disc. It blew up in your hand. I did what I could, but without the proper equipment all I could do was stop the bleeding…

"Never mind me, what about Starfire? Raven?"

Cyborg paused before replying, he had dreaded this moment "Robin…Star's…dead you saw it, we all did, the bastard snapped her neck like a twig and Raven's been stuck in"  
Cyborg's voice trailed off as he looked over to Raven's swirling sphere, or rather the absence of it.  
The disappearance of Raven's swirling cage heralded her return mere moments after Robin's. She too sat up groaning like she'd been on a weeklong bender.

"Raven!"

Beast boy was the first to reach her, clasping her to him before leaping back with a startled yelp.  
Raven…Raven didn't look like Raven anymore, the hair was too long, reaching down past her shoulders rather then Raven's usual trimmed style, the face was too angular, the ears too pointed and fangs were visible in her slightly open mouth. Even as they watched her tattered cloak fell away, revealing what had cased BB to jump back; wings, vast black wings and a long sinuous tail that lashed around her feet in agitation, The marks where there as well dull now, looking for all the world like a complex series of tattoos..

"What the-"Cyborg sprang forward sonic cannon raised, he had been to Nevermore before, knew what Raven's new appearance might mean

Raven stared at her now clawed hands in shock and Robin 'felt' the confusion radiating off of her; it was like… he couldn't describe it he could feel every confused thought tumbling through Raven's head.

"I…I'm not sure."

"Maybe it-"

"-Was Trigon's influence?"

"Yes…" Raven's voice had changed again, becoming a strangely melodic blend of her own gravely voice and an oddly lilting growl Both Cyborg and BB looked first to Robin then back to Raven "OOOkaay. That was creepy"  
"What"  
"Was?"

"You're completing each others sentences!"

"We"  
"Are?"

It was true, whenever Robin spoke he would get halfway through and then fall silent Raven continuing his sentence without a pause and apparently without thinking about it.

"Sorry to break up the happy reunion guys but we've got trouble."

"Whats"  
"-Wrong?"

"The watchtower is moving into geostationary orbit over us, and you know what that means"  
Nobody spoke; they had all seen the destructive power of the watchtower's main weapon; a gun that could easily reduce Titans tower, its island and the surrounding seabed to a smoking ruin.  
Evidently the Lords either didn't want to risk another attack or the simply couldn't be bothered to come down and kill them manually "How long"  
"-do we have?"

"just under 15 minutes."

"Why ar"  
"-en't we moving then?"

For the first time since his shock with Raven beast boy spoke up "Where are we supposed to go? In case you forgot we're wanted criminals now, all our friends are dead…Terra's dead"  
He had a point with the whole world under the Lords control and Titans east dead they had nowhere left to go.  
Robin cast a mournful look at Aqualad's body…maybe they did have a place to go…

"Atlantis. They'll take us in if we bring back Aqualad's body-"

"-Anyway they don't like the Lords anymore then we do."

"But what about…" BB indicated the still bodies of Starfire and the other Titans

"Star's coming with us"  
"-the rest we bury."

Cyborg nodded glumly, still too numb from recent events to really care.

Beast boy on the other hand…  
"But Robin the sub, there's barely enough room fo-"

"She's coming-" "-with us"  
This time it was Raven who had spoken first.  
Beast boy found himself hanging by the neck in Raven's suddenly iron-hard grip.  
An angry Raven was scary at the best of times, but the recent and dramatic changes to her appearance had stepped her up from merely intimidating to terrifying.

"Raven"  
Her sudden surge of anger had taken Robin completely by surprise, so much so that HE, riding the crest of Ravens emotional wave nearly attacked Beast boy himself.

As Cyborg watched something seemed to pass between the two of them and Raven slowly lowered BB to the floor before drifting over to Robin.

"Sorry"

"10 minutes guy's…"

"you heard-"

"-him. MOVE!"

Superman, standing on a nearby roof-top watched in satisfaction as the Watchtower's orbital weapons reduced Titans tower to a smoking crater.  
"All enemies of justice will be punished."

End chapter 


	5. Chapter 5

Authors note: Yes, it's finally here! Chapter 5 of Titans lost.  
Before proceeding I would like to thank everyone who read and/or reviewed this story especially Chaos tears and Psychic werewolf assassin who were both good enough to place it on their favourite lists.

Updates on Bad blood rising and my various EVA fiction's are on the way, including a new humour focused fic based on Rei Ayanami.

Now for the whining: would somebody please review Bitter feelings and Cybernetic rhapsody? They are my first real attempts at angst and I can't get better if you don't say what I did wrong.

A sudden snap of her wings gave Raven the room she needed to fling a bar-bell at her assailant, the projectile flying towards her targets head with lethal force. To her shock her foe didn't dodge the attack but merely continued his charge, leaping onto her attack using it to jump onto the ceiling, ricocheting off it to slam into Raven in a tangle of limbs.  
After a confused moment of struggling Raven found herself pinned, both arms pinioned by the metallic grasp of her attacker's right hand, his other hand, the organic one gently caressed her face.

"I win…again."

"Oh really?" replied Raven, smiling coyly.  
"Really"  
While he was distracted Raven snaked her tail around his waist and yanked with all her might.  
Robin was sent flying up into the ceiling with Raven close behind, grabbing him one-handed Raven dug her claws into the ceiling, leaving Robin in much the same position she had been in a moment ago, only she hadn't been pinned to the ceiling.  
You're improving Robin had changed to mental communication as he always did when they were close, it was odd, Raven had always thought that sharing her mind with another person would have felt invasive but Robin's presence was never 'wrong' in fact she felt better now then she had in years. Robin's constant presence acted as both a focus and a limiter for her power, allowing her to channel her excess energy into Robin rather then simply discharging it chaotically. sharing her soul with him had made it almost impossible for Trigon to simply rest control of her mind, not even he could fight a metal war with the two of them at once and win.  
Robin smiled beneath his mask, Raven had improved immensely in the years they had spent in Atlantis, far more then he had thought possible, pulling of moves it had taken him years to master. Apparently, their link went beyond just thoughts and feelings but extended to muscle memory as well.  
"Lets go see what the others are up to." Said Raven, switching back to verbal communication again.  
Sure, but one condition Robin replied smirking "What"  
Let me down, I'm choking Indeed he had been slowly suffocating throughout their little conversation, Raven still hadn't fully mastered her new strength and wasn't aware of just how hard she was pressing down on his throat.  
"Oh…sorry"  
They found Beast Boy or 'Changeling' as he had taken to calling himself in the other practice arena sparring with Blackfire, melting into the shadows to see the shape-shifter rapidly morphing between different animals so fast it was hard to work out what shape he was wearing at any particular time. Starfire's sister had turned up 3 months ago, dragged in by one of Aqua-man's patrols on Atlantis' southern border after being shot down by the Lords' new 'defence' ring. She had been surprisingly eager to help, or she had been after they explained earth's currant sate of affairs. The news of Starfire's death causing her to degenerate into a bout of sulphurous swearing that made even Aqua-man uncomfortable, those snatches of it they could understand anyway. Apparently if anyone was going to kill Star it was "bloody well going to be me!"

The name was not the only thing that had changed about Beast boy, 3 years of almost constant training had given him the muscles he'd longed for in happier times and instead of his usual short-cropped hair he had followed Robin's/Nightwing's example, sporting a emerald green mane that hung down to his lower back. The general effect lingered between Anime pretty-boy and a lion, something the young women of Atlantis had noticed with great interest. Not that Changeling seemed to care, since Terra's funeral he had been silent and dour, throwing himself into his training with a fervour that matched if not exceeded Robin's former obsession with Slade.  
Raven winced slightly at the thought of Slade; neither of them had pleasant memories involving that bastard.  
Blackfire had (gradually) changed too, actually becoming a useful and valued member of the team. Revenge it seemed bridged more chasms then goodwill ever could.  
…and judging from the way the two of them were going at it goodwill certainly wasn't a factor.

"Raaggh!" Changeling charged, morphing into a the form of tiger mid-leap Unimpressed Blackfire simply jinked left to avoid his lunge and retaliated with a spin-kick whose impact resounded throughout the room, sending Changeling flying back to bounce across the floor. He was up again in seconds though, darting across the ground as a snake before springing into the air as a mouse and coming down onto the shocked Blackfire as a hippo, crushing her beneath his newfound bulk. Changeling had Blackfire pinned down, both were breathing heavily "Had enough"  
Wordlessly Blackfire leaned up and kissed him fiercely.  
All activity ceased, it was hard to tell just who was more surprised them, Changeling or Blackfire herself. Whatever the case Changeling certainly wasn't complaining and from the looks of things Robin and Raven might end up seeing more then they'd bargained for if they stuck around.  
Raven gestured to Robin and they soundlessly slide into the shadows of their hiding place, leaving Changeling and Blackfire to their own devices.  
Robin looked questioningly at Raven as they reappeared in Cyborg's workshop, her expression told him that this was news to her as well.  
"Gar and Blackfire, who'd have thought"  
"Maybe it's one of those hate-hate relationships"  
"What's this about Gar and Blackfire?" piped in Jynx, causing the pair to spin around in surprise.  
They'd picked up Jynx on one of Aqua-man's covert missions, after Robin's insistence Aqua-man had grudgingly set up a small black-op's strike force to rescue those heroes who wished to escape the surface and fight the Lords corrupt rule. Unfortunately success was limited, almost all those the Lords counted as 'dissidents' had already been rounded up and either incarcerated or killed.

From what Jynx had told them the Hive had been rebuilt after the Titans had destroyed it, emphasis on 'had'. Shortly after the Titans supposed deaths, the Lords had hunted the HIVE down and exterminated them. Out of a class of 350 Jynx was the only one still breathing. Understandably she wanted revenge and jumped at the chance of working with Victor again whom she had never quite got over.  
Currently the pink witch was staring at the pair of them with avid interest, the pile of machinery in her arms completely forgotten.  
"Hey J where are those parts?" called Cyborg, appearing from beneath the T-car 2 on a small wheelie thing.  
"Where'd that girl get to now? Oh hello Dick, Rae, what brings you down to the 'pit?  
The 'pit' was what Cyborg had humorously dubbed the mechanics shop Aquaman had given over to his use. He and Jynx spent most of their time here building weapons and equipment for their all consuming quest for vengeance "Shh Vi, the happy couple were saying something about gar and Blackfire." Said jynx eagerly.  
"It's"  
"-nothing"  
Replied Dick and Raven in tandem and smirking at the wince jynx gave them.  
"Don't do that, it's creepy"  
Jynx had never quite gotten used to Raven's little 'make-over' and found the pairs early speaking habits disconcerting, soon turning the whole thing into a long running joke between the three of them.  
"Don't d"  
"-O what"  
Replied Raven with a grin.  
Jynx stuck her tongue out at the pair of them and stalked off behind some machinery.

"Don't mind her, she's just getting a bit antsy being cooped up down here." Said Cyborg.  
"That's understandable." Replied Dick "We've all had our fair share of cabin fever, haven't we Rae"  
"Raven had wondered over to a large shape hidden form view by a huge piece of tarp.  
"What's this Victor?" she asked, running her hand along the side.

"That is 'dark-girl' is my latest project, wanna see"  
"Well feast your eyes on this!" Cyborg cried, not even waiting for a reply as he yanked away the tarp covering his latest invention… the T-car.  
"Uh Cy, it's great that you rebuilt the T-car and all but"  
"I think that our illustrious leader would like to know why you rebuilt our car underwater." Supplied Raven, flashing Dick a fang-filled smile.  
If Cyborg cared or even noticed about this lack of enthusiasm he didn't show it, merely continuing his sparkly eyed rant about his "baby"  
"Fully submersible, Triple thick ceramic and tungsten armour interspersed with several metals unique to Atlantis make this baby proof 'gainst anything short of a cruise missile.." He patted the bonnet fondly "oh and don't think that I forgot about you two" He sad seeing the look on Raven's face.  
Raven's 'enhancement' meant that it would be extremely difficult and impractical to ride in the T-car, her wings would get in the way, there was no room for the tail and worst of all she'd scratch the leather.  
As he spoke Jynx pulled a covered cart from behind the T-car "I know you felt bad about the R-cycle, so allow me to present: the REDBIRD"  
As he spoke Jynx gave the cover a sharp tug revealing a large red and blue bike next to an identical blue and black one…

"Ahem"  
They all turned at the interruption to see a small group of Atlantean palace guards the closest of whom had spoken and to Dick's consternation was giving Raven nervous glances when he thought that no one was looking. Four years, they had been in Atlantis for four years and people still looked at tem with mistrust at best, fear at worst. Raven had it worst though; her demonic appearance garnered her nothing but loathing and attacks from the people. To her credit she bore it well, accepting the insults with a calm stoicism but Dick knew every jibe hurt her badly.

"The king requests your presence at the palace"  
"Gar and Blackfire are kinda bus"  
"ALL of you"  
They had guards for the trip and that helped…a little, Raven felt the mistrust and anger radiating form the crowds and because of their bond Dick felt it too and his anger rose to match theirs. Unbidden sparks of black lightning began to buzz and crackle around his metallic arm surrounding it in a nimbus of borrowed power.  
In contrast the others ignored the milling crowds; Cyborg and Changeling were far to used to it and Blackfire and Jynx had never really given a damn about public opinion at the best of times, hell Blackfire probably enjoyed pissing the natives off.  
Upon reaching the palace they were swiftly escorted to the 'war-room' where they were greeted by a dour looking Aqua-man and several of his highest ranking generals one of whom glared at the Titans hatefully. General R'ai had been had detractor of theirs since they had arrived, he'd attempted to have them executed for 'trespass' and 'regicide' or in Raven and Cyborg's cases "being abominations.  
Needless to say the feeling was most defiantly mutual at this point. Dick had lost count of the number of times he and Victor had to explain to Blackfire and Jynx that they couldn't kill him "even if he is a bastard." And "No not even if that building should just 'happen' to collapse on him."

"Ah, how good it is for the surfacers and their pet abominations to join us." surfacers was said to rhyme with 'shit sucking scum' Cybrog and Raven both moved to restrain Blackfire and Changeling respectively, an attack in Aqua-man's presence would give R'ai all the ammunition he needed to get them exiled if not killed. Not that Raven could blame them, She wanted to kill him, hell most everyone in the room wanted to kill him if the ambient feelings she was getting were any indication.

"Enough! Remember your place general, the Titans are our guests and should be treated accordingly." Warned Aqua-man coldly "We have called you all here to discuss some rather worrying information."

What could this information be? will General R'ai survive the meeting? Will the author ever get his act together and find some talent?  
all these questions and more will be answered in the next chapter!

(Please not that tatterdelimon takes no responsibilityfor sanity lost during this fic) 


	6. Chapter 6

Gotham City/Wayne manor: the Batcave

It had been 2 weeks, two weeks since his fellow lords had left for the alternate world and one week since he'd sent the 'Justice league' back to their own plane

Batman, the dark knight, the terror of Gotham, never before had Bruce Wayne felt less deserving and more part of that mantle. He had seized power, had become a tyrant worse then any Joker or Luthor all in the name of 'justice'

"Hello Bruce"  
Faster then most people would think possible Batman leapt out of his chair into a diving roll, Batrang already whining its way towards the intruder. Bruce's mind was whirring furiously; only a handful of people even knew of the Batcave's location, only six of them knew the codes to enter and three of those were dead…

"Still paranoid as ever I see…"

Completing his roll and looking up Bruce finally spotted the intruder; It was tall and sleekly muscled, a man by the stance, a tattered cloak hiding all but his head and metallic right arm, which judging from the black and purple exterior and crackling violet energy was definantly artificial.  
This hypothesis was confirmed when the intruder casually closed his fist, crushing the batrang like it was made of paper.  
The mask was…familiar somehow; a stylised skull with a black bird of some sort, wings spread over one eye, and a single red tear dripping from the other.  
It didn't match any of Gothams usual Rogues gallery or even any he'd seen while in the Lords but it nudged at him, he'd seen that mask before…  
"Who are you? And how did you get in here?"

"Who the hell am I? Bruce I'm hurt, I know its been 5 years but still… As for how I got in, you always were a sentimentalist Bruce, but not changing the security codes since my last visit?"

Last visit? That voice… even behind the electronic masking it had to… no It couldn't be him…could it?

"Dick?"

The figure bowed mockingly, pulling the mask from his face as Batman's readied disc fell to the floor with a clatter.  
"Got in one"  
"But… you're dead."

"Oh you heard about that then? I was wondering why you weren't there at Arkam all those years ago, we both were right Raven?"

Instinctively Batman ducked, but he'd barely got 2 feet before the shadows of the cave reared up and engulfed him, pulling him from the ground and slamming him into the bat-computer with bone-crushing force.

Inwardly wincing as he felt a rib pop Batman franticly tried to assess the situation; Dick was supposed to be dead! All the titans were. He'd watched as J'onn vaporised the tower from orbit.

"In fact we all were, weren't we guys?"

More shapes emerged from the caves gloom, flanking the shadowy form that he assumed was Raven.

"Lets have a little light, Blackfire."

Instantly the cave was bathed in a sharp lavender glow illuminating a collection of faces that Batman had assumed dead.

Even with the pain of a cracked rib and the rising panic filling his thoughts Batman slipped into observation mode; He recognised the hulking shape of Victor Stone AKA Cyborg and a green furred youth he assumed was Garfield Logan AKA Beast Boy, the pink haired girl looked like a former HIVE member and from the looks of it the tall girl providing the illumination was Blackfire.

"Recognise them Bruce? No? Well I suppose that's understandable, we have changed quite a bit since our…demise."

If the sight of those hate filled faces surrounding him intimidated the Batman then he gave no sign "Don't give us that you senile old fuck!" screamed Blackfire, eyes glowing a dangerous lilac, but Garfield stopped her with a gesture.

"Calm down Komi."

"The lords Bruce, you remember them don't you? The ones who you watched kill us? But that can wait, I'm sure our host is just dieing to hear how we made it out of his little death-trap."

"Well Bruce made it to Atlantis without detection…barely; Cyborg's idea of lining the escape tunnel with lead was the only thing that had stopped Superman from spotting us, its like you always said; you can never be TOO paranoid eh?"

" As I'm sure you can guess the trip was made in silence, all of us too wrapped up in prior events, all too mindful of the sub's grisly cargo."

Knightwing paused here, obviously in pain

"Do you know what that feels like Bruce? To be betrayed by those you idolised? To carry the remains of your friends in terror? Knowing that at any second you might join them?"

Batman stayed silent, after all what could he say?

"At first, we had trouble getting in, especially when the guards caught sight of Raven's little…changes, but once Aqua-man had heard that we were carrying the body of his son we were rushed to the palace.  
As I'm sure you can imagine he was angry to begin with, shouting about "revenge!" and "Injustice!" before falling silent, his wife simply burst into tears cradling Aqua-lads body to herself.  
The funeral for Titans east, you remember them don't you? The other team you murdered. was held a week after our arrival, a quiet affair really, just us and Aqua-man, attending more out of duty then any real affection for us, after all Aqua-lads funeral had been held a day after we arrived, needless to say we weren't invited."

It was the sheer bitterness in his words that hurt Bruce as much as any of the blows they'd exchanged.

"We stayed in Atlantis for a while, watching and waiting. Four years of training and preparation and then; you vanished… well most of you did."

"And that brings us back to why we're here; where are they?"

Batman sighed deeply, or as deeply as Raven's umbral grip on him would allow.

"I suppose if anyone deserves to know its you"  
"Know what"  
"We found a separate dimension, identical to this one in every respect but one."

"Which was?"

"Luthor was alive."

Knightwing and Raven rocked back on their heels, Luthor alive? It had been his death that had caused this whole mess!

Odd as it was Batman took some satisfaction at their expressions, still as sharp as ever.  
"As I'm sure you can guess Clark wasn't too happy about that."

"You didn't…" murmured Raven, speaking for the first time; absently Batman noted how different her voice was from 4 years ago.

"Oh yes." Here Batman's voice took on a much sharper, less defeated tone. "We tricked the 'justice league' into coming here, captured and replaced them, masquerading as them in a bid to 'help'.

"They escaped… I showed them the way back, a kind of redemption." He laughed hollowly, shocking Knightwing; had the main he'd known, respected and even feared really become this? This hollow shell?  
"That was a week ago, I haven't heard from either party since."

Slowly Raven relaxed her grip, lowering Batman's bruised body to the floor.

"The portal, does it still work?"

"Yes but you should know, there's only enough element X to power one gateway; if you go now then you'll be trapped in the other dimension."

Knightwing nodded and turned to his team.

"We've all lost things in this war, friends, ideals, lover." He cast Raven a slow look "Even our humanity, but it's finally over, the war is won and the world is free I-"

"Oh shut the fuck up darkboy"  
For a second silence reigned, all too shocked by Blackfire's outburst to reply.  
"You stand there making your dramatic speech, martyring yourself like some big hero! Well we've lost as much as you and if you fucking think that-" She fell silent, her tirade cut off by Gar's hand covering her own as he spoke in the subdued, growl he'd used since Arkam "I think what Koma's trying to say is that we're coming with you."

"A long time ago a girl gathered us up together and made us promise to stay together, no matter what." Cyborg thrust out a hand "and I ain' planning on breakin that promise yet!"

Knightwing surveyed his team with pride.

"You always did have a thing for melodrama." Snickered Raven as she placed her clawed hand on Cyborg's metallic one.

"Thanks guys…"

From his place by the console Batman watched in silence, had he done this to them? Had his inattention cost them so much?  
His reverie was broken by the harsh tones of Jynx.  
"Well you heard them old man; turn the bloody thing on"  
Batman allowed himself a ghost of a smile as he booted up the mechanism, the ring humming it's low baritone as the portal crackled and buzzed into life.

"What are you going to do, if you find them?"

This time it wasn't Dick that spoke but Garfield; the green shape shifters once happy and vibrant voice a dull, almost flat growl.  
"Isn't it obvious?"

One by one the Titan's vanished, the portal swallowing them up soundlessly until only three remained in the cave; Batman, Raven and Dick.  
Silence, both men staring at each other for the first time in 5 years.  
"How's Alfred?"

"Dead…a year ago. In his sleep."

"I see"  
More silence. A silence that stretched on until;

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why didn't you finish it?"

Dick paused, looking to Raven and then back down to Batman with an unreadable expression on his face.  
"Call it a debt to a great man I knew once." He strode to the portal but paused, an inch away from its shimmering surface

"Oh and Bruce? the names Knightwing."

And with that he was gone, vanishing with the rest of the Titans. 


	7. Chapter 7

As all who traffic in dimensional travel know; time is a strange thing between worlds; hours can flash by in seconds or years, the scant moments difference between Knightwing's stepping through the portal and the rest of the Titans while not hours, were long enough for a hitch to make itself apparent.

Cyborg looked back into the ally as his sensors picked up the energy trace of the portal flaring again and wondered how he'd tell Dick about this…  
Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately) He didn't have long to agonise as the ally lit up with the tell-tale glow that heralded the appearance of Knightwing and Raven.

For a moment nobody spoke It had been a very odd feeling, to stare out at the Gotham that Dick remembered, the crime infested hell-hole of a town, filled with some of the worlds worst psychopaths and feel glad.

However something was missing from Dick's view of Gotham, two somethings.  
"Cyborg?"

"Yes Dick?"

"Why can't I see Changeling or Blackfire"  
"…."

"What was that?"

If Cyborg's voice could've gotten any smaller it might have passed as nonexistent so jynx supplied the answer instead.

"Because they've run off…."

"WHAAT?"

About half a mile away.

"And captain angst should be noticing that we're gone in 3…2…1;"

"WHAAAT?"

Blackfire smirked broadly as Knightwing's voice rang out across the roofs on cue. "Bingo."

"Koma, over here."

Turning away from her view of the rooftops Komiandyr or Blackfire glided over to Changling, keeping low to the roof they were currently hidden upon "Down there"  
"Well hello." She murmured, catching sight of his target instantly.  
Superheros, 5 of them.

"Hey fuzzy, who's the cape brigade?"

Not even smirking at Blackfire's use of his 'pet' name Changeling ran through the names in a low whisper. "Booster gold, Hawk, Dove, Vigilante and…Green arrow?"

"Any of them dangerous?"

"The ones in blue and red are speedsters, strong too."

"Not as strong as me." She replied confidently "The others?"

"Mostly projectiles."

"Good."

"Any idea where they are Rae?"

Raven didn't reply, too absorbed in scanning for Blackfire's mental signature.

"Damnit!" she yelled, slamming a clawed fist into the ally wall "She's blocking me."

"How?" inquired Jynx "Isn't this sort of stuff simple for you now"  
Raven growled in frustration, dragging a gouge from the wall with her claws as she tried not to hit the pink haired witch, Dick's anger was adding to her own frustrations, making her angry, which in turn made him even worse.  
"IT WOU!..." she paused taking a deep, calming breath. "It would be, but Blackfire's always been hard to find, I don't know if it's some form of mental training or just a shifty personality but she just isn't here.  
"But wh"  
"If you ask me where Gar is I will strangle you. Obviously I can't find him either"  
The two women were interrupted by Knightwing and Cyborg's own argument reaching new levels of volume.  
Knightwing was ringing his hands in frustration; little sparks and crackles of violet energy buzzing around his steel hand "I can't believe this is happening! Why didn't you stop them?"

"In case you hadn't noticed spiky, I CAN'T FLY!"

"We aren't going to find them by arguing now are we?" said Jynx, stepping between the two men and placing a mollifying hand on their chests. "They can't have gone far, even Blackfire's not dumb enough to make a scene yet."

As if in answer to her words the sound of an explosion rang out across the city, swiftly followed by screams and the sounds of breaking glass. Knightwing groaned, clutching his head in both hands. "PLEASE let that be the Joker…"

(breaker)

Vigilante dove behind a car as the ground exploded around him, Dove was out of the fight, a smoking crater penetrating the sewer a testament to the force with which his attacker had struck.

Chancing a look over the bonnet of his hiding place he saw Green arrow peeking out of an alley, bow notched and aiming at the green creature attacking Hawk.

Above the scene Blackfire crowed with glee and sent another black-bolt arcing down at the gold clad idiot cowering below.

Booster Gold was not having a good day. First was the Watchtower's vending machine being out of Oreo's. (again!) Second was what was apparently Godzilla attacking metropolis. He'd got there just in time to see Superman drop kick it into the harbour (and to be mistaken for the Green lantern AGAIN!) and now…

"Come on you gold bastard! I just want to play with you!"

The resident super powered psycho had decided to show up.

Twisting right to dodge another volley of those weird purple things that the girl was throwing Booster returned fire; an arcing beam of golden light.  
Which she batted aside like an irritating fly.

"AWww Bugger."

With a nod to Hawk Green Arrow span out and let the shaft fly.  
The beast ignored it, knowing that the shot was wide. And it was, till Hawk abruptly shifted the momentum of their struggle; pitching him from his feet.  
Right into the arrow's path.

Changeling roared as fifty thousand volts hit his lower back like a frozen hammer; all brittle impact and pain.  
Smoking but still breathing, still conscious he turned, turned in time to see Hawk's fist, to feel the impact…  
Hawk looked down in both shock and horror as the massive ape/tiger/reptile THING he'd be wrestling with vanished, to be replaced by a bruised and bleeding teenager.

"GAR!"

Both Hawk and Arrow span round at that pained yell, just in time to see Blackfire drop Booster's limp body, eyes blazing a malevolent indigo.

"Duck"  
But Vigilante's warning, and his interference shots came too late.  
Blackfire's blast caught Hawk in the shoulder, spinning the speedster right around as he ploughed into the nearby wall.  
Arrow gasped and half turned before a claw-like hand slapped shut around his throat in a grip of steel.  
He could see Vigilante behind the woman, dashing to get a better angle. He also knew that by the time that happened his neck would look like a pipe-cleaner.  
"You…you I'll kill slow"  
The woman held him close, the violet glow of her eyes and hands actually starting to singe his flesh

"I don't think so."

Blackfire had time to register two things; the voice and a strong hand grasping her arm before her stomach lurched and she was catapulted from her feet, smashing through what felt like several walls, coming to rest in a jewellery store.

Her attacker relaxed, turning to the prone green Arrow.

"You okay chum?"

Fighting the rising feeling of incredulity that dealing with Captain Marvel always gave him, the Arrow nodded shakily, rubbing his tender neck as the larger man pulled him to his feet.  
"Bitch had a good grip"  
Suppressing his frown at the older man's course language Captain Marvel continued "J'onn sent me in, thought you could use a hand against-"

"DIE"  
He stopped, cut off by Blackfire's shriek and headlong charge.  
Instantly Marvel blurred, interposing himself between Green Arrow and the shrieking woman but he needn't have bothered; tentacles leapt from the walls and floor, grasping limbs of pure darkness that enveloped Blackfire; both preventing her from attacking the league but also shielding her from their assault.

"What the?"

"I think that this has gone on long enough."

Both men stepped back in alarm as a pair of cloaked shapes emerged from the ground, rising up as if the shattered concrete was as permeable as water.  
One was obviously female, face hidden beneath a deep cowl, the other, presumably a man from the voice was turned away from them, speaking to the struggling Blackfire in a heated, if unintelligible tone.

"You…have our apologies; this wasn't meant to involve you, any of you." The woman spoke first, in a voice all echo and style as the darkness began to swirl around them.

"Cut the crap, who are you?" interjected the Arrow, noting that the same black shapes were rising to cover the unconscious body of the mad shapeshifter while he spoke.

"Now ya'all just stop right there"  
Vigilante, the gunfighter had doubled round the pair during their conversation and had his revolvers trained at their heads.

The man turned, just enough for his skull mask to be visible through the rising black.  
"Put them down, we're not here for you"  
"Ah said stop"  
"Be quiet"  
Yelping, Vigilante dropped his guns, the suddenly red-hot metal hissing when it struck the street.  
By now the figures were almost gone, hidden behind the shifting shadows, all save for the skull "Tell superman that Kori says hello. He'll know what it means."

And when the darkness receded, they were gone.

"Well whadda ya make of that?"

Behind the gathered hero's a car exploded, adding force to Captain Marvel's apt, if cheesy words.  
"This…looks like a job for superman."

GOD GOD! An update, I'd almost forgotten what it was like to post these…  
For those of you that read my fics Thank you and sorry for this wait, the gap's been inexcusable.  
Ah who'm I kidding… 


	8. Chapter 8

The night air was cool and crisp, a feeling that Cyborg hadn't felt for over four long years and he loved it, even with his metal skin. Atlantis had been climate controlled to the decigrade but had never quite measured up to the real deal.  
It was about 3 hours after their disastrous arrival; Knightwing had found them a temporary headquarters, sending Him and Jynx out to scout, trusting in their holo-rings and common sense.  
He'd been a bit hesitant at first, the idea of walking about in the open after so long more then a little daunting but now that he was here, under the open sky and among people who ignored him…  
"I'd kinda forgotten what its like." He murmured softly, so softly that it took Jynx a moment to reconstruct his words to reply.

"What whats like V?"

Cyborg looked down at the sleekly dressed curvy brunette that hid Jynx beneath her holographic skin, wrapping a similarly disguised arm around her tiny shoulders before gesturing to the bustling streets of Gotham city.  
"Not being looked at with loathing all the time, seeing people walk around without freaking out over littering I guess."

Shivering at the cool touch of her lover's metal skin, Jynx had to agree. Gotham had never been the friendliest of cities and was certainly cleaner in her world but the tension, the paranoia was gone. Here they weren't hunted; hell the Jynx of this world might not even be a criminal.

"Do…do we really have to do this?" her voice faltered and Jynx almost cursed herself for saying it but some part of had…had to ask

"Do what?" they stopped, Victor turning around to face her, the smooth brown skin of his holographic features twisted in confusion and Jynx couldn't suppress the small surge of irritation that his using the rings always triggered in her.

"This, fight, kill." Seeing the incredulous look on Victor's face she continued hurriedly, almost panicking and drawing a few looks from passers by "Look I know they killed Starfire, they killed my friends too but…we could live here we"  
She stopped, Victor's gentle finger on her lips preventing further talk.  
"You know I, WE can't do that J-girl"  
"Yeah I know but"  
he silenced her again, drawing her into a loose embrace that almost totally hid the tiny girl from view before continuing in a low rumble.  
"No buts, now you know what'll turn that frown upside down"  
managing a smile as she looked up at him from the cavern created by his thick arms. Letting the slight warmth generated by the rings holo-field and his power-cell gently seep through her.  
"Four hours of debauched sex?"

"Well yes but I was thinking more along the lines of pizza."

"That too."

"I should have known better."

Raven sighed; having to deal with Dick's perfection complex was bad enough before she'd gotten it in stereo.  
Whenever he got like this she was bombarded by feelings of ineptitude and regret… it was getting annoying.  
"You know as well as I do that we had to trust her, who could predict that she'd go off on a revenge fuelled rampage?"

A lengthy pause followed this.

"OK we all did but we didn't think she'd do it so soon, so stop beating yourself up about it, its giving me a headache."

Sighing wearily Knightwing turned away from the stack of crates he'd been brooding by. Wincing slightly at the phantom pain of his link to Raven as she took Changeling's injuries upon herself.

"Ever the voice of reason eh?"

"You better believe it. Now get out there, I've got to finish up here." Replied Raven, gesturing to the still unconscious form of Changeling.

Watching him turn and stalk around the make-shift wall Raven sank down next to the comatose shifter, her mind a mess of half formed emotions and ideas.  
Things were going a lot faster then they'd planned and it wasn't doing Dick's mental state any good and that, in turn was affecting hers.  
Sure she was free of Trigon's control but had they ever actually sat down and thought about their relationship? He had literally saved her soul, stitching up the gaps torn in her being by Trigon with parts of his own. When they'd awoken she'd scarcely been unable to discern what thoughts were his or her own… they'd even become violently ill if separated. Like it or not they were a part of each other now and probably for the rest of their lives.

The years after… well they'd been hard. Fighting was the only thing that had kept them going really. The thought that one day they'd strike back. They'd sat and planed, discussed every possible strategy and form of attack but five minutes on the field…

Currently they were camped out in an old warehouse by the docks which Knightwing assured them would be outside the Batman's usual patrol route.  
Of course that was if this dimensions Batman was even still alive.  
Cyborg and Jynx had gone to gather food and other medical supplies, the old persona of Stone making himself useful.  
Unfortunately this left Blackfire and Dick alone together for the 'debriefing'.

Dick had barely cleared the make-shift wall when Blackfire, who up till nowe had been pacing restlessly rounded on him, anger and resentment pouring from her.  
"Why the hell did you stop us? A second more and I'd have snapped that fools neck like a dry twig!"

Taxed by a compound migraine and his own rage at her stupidity Dick's anger did just that, the Knightwing personality slamming into place with such speed that Raven, distracted as she was staggered, even as the mask spread across his face like ink.

"WHY?!" He said, the Knightwing persona never yelled but the change in his voice seemed to drop a few octaves every time his anger rose so that his rage hit Blackfire like a physical blow. "Why?! Because they had nothing to do with this! We don't kill innocent people! Do you think we stand a fucking chance of getting revenge if we don't follow the plan! Did you think you could have taken Superman by yourselves? Did you think at all? Do you have any idea what you may have cost us!?"

Not cowed in the least by Knightwing's words Blackfire moved so that they were inches apart, eyes blazing, her breasts thrust into the substantially shorter mans face.  
"And what makes you think you know any better then us? Eh? It was your plans that landed us in this mess to begin with you stuck up-"

Raven felt the rage flood through her and gasped as she crushed the shelf she was leaning on, hands bursting into violet fire that had the coated aluminium bubbling and hissing in seconds; all Dick's fear anger and hate of those memories, of Superman, of betrayal rushed to the surface and she knew instantly that Blackfire had gone too far.

Knightwing's right side was on fire, black flames licking at his metallic arm as he advanced on the now wary Tameranean.

"Don't you"  
"dare!"

Blackfire's head whipped around as Raven's voice joined Knightwing's. The she-demon had literally stepped through the wall of crates separating them, wings spread and tail lashing angrily.  
A tense moment passed where neither Blackfire nor the now gestalt entity of Knightwing and Raven knew what to expect until…

"STOP IT!"

All eyes turned to see Changeling, unmarked from his previous battle; eyes narrowed and pointed teeth bared.

"What the hell is up with you? Huh? At each others throats like this? You think Terra would like this? Would Starfire?"

Knightwing turned away from him, chill tides of shame drowning both his rage and the flames licking his arm, the mention of Starfire more then enough to halt him.  
Raven, feeling her counterparts overriding rage ebb, relaxed, her wings easing back down to wrap around her shoulders while her second set of eyes dimmed and closed.

"Gar it's not-" she began but the green shifter ignored her attempt at speech, merely growling and striding past till he was face to face with the still smouldering Blackfire.  
He reached up, a clawed hand stroking the woman's mass of ebon hair in a calming manner "Koma… I know it hurts but-"

"We brought Pizza!!" Cyborg's booming voice echoed in the valley left behind by the suddenly vanishing tension and they all looked away.  
Jynx's brow crinkled in confusion as she slowly ambled into the room, rounding the corner of shelving just in time to see Knightwing disappear behind a stack of crates.  
Something had just happened, something big… but what?  
"Something wrong?" asked Cyborg, holographic brows quirked.

"Nothing CY, just talking." Replied Changeling emerging from behind Blackfire, her larger frame having hidden him from the newcomers view until now.  
"Yo green bean I got you pepperoni!" chimed Jynx brandishing a stack of cardboard as only she could.  
"Nice to see you up and about." Said Cyborg.  
"I had a great doctor." Said Changeling dryly accepting Cyborg's playful punch with the ghost of a smile.  
Both smiled when Jynx, patience taxed by the presence of hot food finally gave in.  
"Enough with the macho stuff I'm hungry"  
Smiling at the reminder of how things used to be Raven drifted away, deftly snatching a pizza from the stack as she passed.  
"Rae, Catch"  
Raven turned and caught the flung newspaper, black energy lining it briefly before it dropped onto the pizza box.  
"Currant events." Said Cyborg by way of explanation. She nodded and phased through the crates tossing the paper to Dick the moment she was clear.

"Cy brought this." She said before flipping open the pizza box and extracting a slice. Her link to Dick telling her not to bother offering him any just yet.  
For a moment that's how it stayed, her watching him read, half listening to the happy yelling of the others and every now and again reaching for a fresh slice of pizza.

"I think I've come up with a plan. One that will solve our base problems at least." Said Dick, finally breaking the silence.

"oh?"

"Get the others and I'll explain."

A moment later they were all gathered together in a semicircle Dick clutching the rolled up newspaper like a field marshals baton.

"According to this the Justice league was attack yesterday by a mysterious, possibly insane new female villain and some form of green monster." He gave Changeling and Blackfire a stern look.

"Try not too look too pleased with yourself …" muttered Jynx, noticing Blackfire's smirk at her newspaper coverage.

"Wait, the justice league? Those guys?" said Changeling his tone disbelieving.

"That's what it says, do you have any idea as to what this means?"

"They actually did it." Breathed Cyborg.

"Yes. This means that the original plan went ahead here, all of earths metahuman heroes under one banner while the lords are all snug in orbit."

"How are we supposed to get to them up there? And through an army of capes?" asked Jynx.

"We can't." replied Raven "That's why we need to get them to come to us."

"And just how are you going to do that? In case you've forgotten they happen to have a particle weapon up there! We name a place and ZAP!"

"That's what I want to talk about; anything we could do can't be done here, we need equipment, computers, TIME and I think you might enjoy hearing as to where we shall be gett8ing these things…."

watchtower

The watchtower, main headquarters of the now galaxy spanning justice league was in chaos; technicians and costumed heroes running to and fro to their various stations and assignments.  
"And you're sure that you didn't recognise any of them"  
It had been 48 hours since the attack and the Green arrow, Vigilante, Booster gold and Hawk were bent over a console while the Martian Manhunter and Superman debriefed them.

"No, I've already told you a hundred times!" Hawk's characteristic bitterness ignored, J'onn turned to the Green arrow.  
"You have a suspicion"  
"How did yo- oh yeah, telepathy"  
"What do you know?" said Superman eager to find a solution.

"It's nothing concrete but that green guy the monster turned into, he looked a bit like one of those kids that set up over in Jump a while back… and the guy with the mask had a message for you Clark."

"For me?"

"Yeah he told me to tell you that 'Kori says hello' that mean anything to you?"

Superman shook his head blankly. "Not a thing but I'll have the Question run a search on the name to see if he can trace anything."

"And they gave you no other indications of their intent?"

"None."

"Alright you can go."

While the battered trio of Vigilante, Booster gold and Hawk filed out Green Arrow turned back to Superman about to continue but-  
"Odd"  
The pair turned, J'onn's stoicism so complete that anything he regarded as odd had to be important "Whats odd J'onn?"

"There is only one Kori'andyr currently on record in the database"

"And that is?" asked Arrow, impatience at the Martian's habit of dragging things out dripping from his words.

"The teen titan Starfire."

Arrow and Superman exchanged a long look.  
"It looks like that hunch of yours might have something"  
The Arrow nodded.  
"I'm going to head over to Jump, see if the kids over there know anything about this, mind if I steal a few capes?"

"Is that really wise?" interjected J'onn "If the Titan's are not involved then we risk alienating their already distant leader."

"That…woman damn near wiped us all out on her own; IF the Titan's are behind this then I want to be prepared"  
And with that he strode out.

To be continued….

Ok, some more after a massive wait. Dunno if anyone's still interested but the stories picking up again; Where does Knightwing think he's going to find a new base? Can he even hold his group together long enough to do anything with it? And what will the league do about this attack? 


End file.
